


Hey there, sunshine, lift my heart.

by marquis



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 09:36:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9883625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marquis/pseuds/marquis
Summary: There is a flower shop in the town center, across the street from City Hall. Taako only knows about it because Merle has dragged him there before, against his will and superior judgement.Normally he hates the place. It’s humid and his hair frizzes up, and the people who work there judge him when he says “pneumonia” instead of “petunia” to piss Merle off. This time, however, Taako walks in to find the most beautiful man he’s ever seen outside a mirror behind the counter.“Welcome to Rose Buddies,” the man says, not looking up. “Can I help you find anything?”(The flower shop AU that literally no one asked for.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Big Jumps" from Emiliana Torrini.
> 
> I watch too much of the Hallmark Channel, and in one episode of their ~hit show~ "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," one of the characters made a comment about roses that seemed remarkably like Kravitz. I took that and turned it into this! I am not a botanist, and in fact I have killed every single plant I've ever owned, so nothing in here is guaranteed to be correct. If that bothers you, I would tread with caution.

Approximately three weeks after Merle leaves, Rosie starts to die.

It – sorry, _she_ – slowly wilts away, shedding like a worn-out feather duster on cleaning day. Magnus is predictably distraught, immediately showering it with sugar water and purchasing a special UV lamp in an attempt to revitalize it. _Her_.

Taako is disgusted.

“It’s a _rosebush!_ ” he yells out the window, as Magnus stares at Rosie with grim puppy-dog eyes. “We’ll buy him another one and he won’t even fucking know!”

Magnus crosses his arms and glares up at Taako from what is apparently his new home, the goddamn porch. “We promised we’d take care of her! I’m not gonna disappoint him.”

“That would be way more convincing if you hadn’t let her die in the first place, my fella,” Taako says. That makes Magnus look really sad, actually, which. Taako doesn’t care, alright, he’s just being honest, and he only closes the window because the crying is going to annoy him. That’s all.

Magnus stays out on the porch. Taako can hear him talking, rambling on some tangent or another; he doesn’t stop until Taako calls him in for dinner.

“You’re an idiot,” Taako says, through a mouthful of roasted vegetables. “Talking to plants doesn’t actually work.”

Magnus snorts. “How would you know? The only plants you’ve ever seen are the ones in the grocery aisle.”

He has a point.

\--

There is a flower shop in the town center, across the street from City Hall. Taako only knows about it because Merle has dragged him there before, against his will and superior judgement.

(He still doesn’t understand why they have to spend ten whole dollars on a flowerpot when they could drill holes in a bucket, okay, it doesn’t make any _sense_.)

Normally he hates the place. It’s humid and his hair frizzes up, and the people who work there judge him when he says “pneumonia” instead of “petunia” to piss Merle off. This time, however, Taako walks in to find the most beautiful man he’s ever seen outside a mirror behind the counter.

“Welcome to Rose Buddies,” the man says, not looking up. “Can I help you find anything?”

He’s systematically trimming flower stems and placing them in a vase, and apparently that’s too important for him to spare a glance at the customers. Taako doesn’t necessarily mind; it gives him the opportunity to ogle.

“Uh, yeah,” Taako says, drawing the words out a little bit. “I’m trying to practice necromancy on a rosebush, and I could really use your digits.”

“Do you,” the man splutters, finally looking up from his work. His eyes are just as pretty as the rest of him. “Do you mean my phone number, or my _fingers_?”

Taako hums, stalking toward the cash register. “Depends. You got a green thumb?”

“Uh.” The guy stares at Taako for a beat, apparently speechless. Probably because Taako is the first human younger than two hundred years old to visit him, ever. “How dead is this rosebush?”

“It’s about as shriveled up as the dude who owns it,” Taako responds. He places his elbows on the counter and rests his chin in his hands. “I was supposed to keep it alive while he was off visiting his kids, but I don’t give a shit and haven’t done diddly squat. The stupid thing decided it’s gonna tattle on me.”

“Neighbor?” The guy – his nametag, Taako can see now, reads ‘Kravitz’ – pushes away from the counter a little bit, eyes looking anywhere but in front of him. It’s fucking adorable.

“Roommate, actually,” Taako corrects. He picks up one of the flowers and twirls it in his hand. White tulip, boring as shit. He wants to bop Kravitz’ nose with it. “So I’m in some shit if you don’t have some magic up your sleeves, babe.”

“Well – I, uh – um,” Kravitz says.

Then Taako does bop him on the nose, because Taako has shit impulse control and he wants to see what happens.

Kravitz reels back, flustered. “What was that for?”

“Fuck if I know,” Taako says. “Come on, my man, what do I do? Help me save my aging roommate’s shitty plant.”

Kravitz walks out from behind the counter, starting down one of the aisles. Taako trails after him, tulip in hand. They’re surrounded by bags of soil and vegetable seeds, which is like, the third-least romantic setting Taako has ever been in.

“Have you been watering it properly?” Kravitz prompts, coming to a halt in front of a shelf of watering cans. “Not just spritzing the leaves, you know, but actually watering it? We sell plant food you can mix in the water, if you’d like to try that as well.”

“Doesn’t the plant make its own food?” Taako asks. “From photosynthesis and all that other shit?”

Kravitz shrugs. “A dying plant might not.”

Taako huffs at that, crossing his arms over his chest. “Lazy goddamn freeloader,” he mutters.

Kravitz snorts a little bit, which means Taako is definitely winning him over. “So, uh. You have been watering it? Does it get enough sun?”

Taako rolls his eyes. “We’re giving it water, and it’s sitting outside. It should be _fine_ , but it isn’t. You aren’t being helpful.”

“Well, uh,” Kravitz looks around, clearly thinking hard. “What about the soil? Are you using fertilizer?”

“Dude, I don’t know how fertile the fucking soil is,” he answers, throwing his hands in the air. “It’s not my bush!”

Kravitz starts pulling items off the shelves then, starting a collection in the crook of his elbow. He moves down the aisle, pulling select things off the shelves and reading the back before deciding if he thinks it might help. Taako follows him, pulling random items off the shelves just because he wants to feel involved in whatever the fuck is happening.

They reach the counter and Kravitz dumps his collection in the empty space beside the register. Taako drops his on top of it, just because.

“Uh, you can try some of these, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it all at once,” Kravitz says. “There are some different kinds of fertilizers there, and a few different kinds of plant food. I don’t really know what you grabbed, so don’t blame me if the whole thing gets worse.”

“Is there anything else I should do? Do I need to, like, buy a beehive or something?” Taako drawls out, leaning on the counter once again.

Kravitz stops typing the barcodes into the cash register. He seems to hesitate for a moment. “Well,” he hedges.

“Yes?”

“There is, uh,” he places some of the items in a plastic bag, “um. There’s another idea, that. Well. Roses grow well when they, uh…”

Taako rolls his eyes. “ _Ugh_ ,” he groans. “Spit it _out_ , hot stuff!”

“Decomposition provides vital nutritional elements for roses,” Kravitz stammers out, avoiding eye contact once again. “A recently deceased pet, or, uh. Um.”

“Or a fucking _dead body_?” Taako demands, through shocked laughter. “Dude, are you trying to tell me I need to _kill_ someone?”

Kravitz shakes his head and holds both hands out in front of him. “No, I’m – absolutely not, no, I’m only saying – if the resource is available to you, I –”

Taako cackles, dropping the tulip down on the counter to hold his stomach instead. “Oh, my god,” he wheezes, chest aching. “A dead body isn’t a fucking _resource_.”

It takes him a full minute to calm down, and by then Kravitz has sorted out all of his items. “That will be forty-two dollars and nineteen cents,” he says, and Taako thinks if he looked close enough he could see a blush.

“Sure thing, honey,” Taako says, still trying to catch his breath. He pulls out his credit card and hands it off to Kravitz. “Does that include the price of the dead body? Or just your phone number?”

Kravitz runs the card through and pushes the receipt over for Taako to sign. “If I give you my number, will you stop making fun of me for the stupid thing I said just now?”

“No, never,” Taako says.

Kravitz sighs. “Fine.” He pulls back Taako’s copy of the receipt and scribbles his name and number on the back. “You are only allowed to use this for plant-related emergencies.”

“I will break that rule.”

“Fantastic.”

\--

Magnus loves all of the new presents for Rosie. He spreads them out over the living room floor and reads each description carefully – “Do you think she’d like organic plant food better than the oxygenated fertilizer? What about the stuff that glows in the dark?” – before selecting a new experiment. Taako hates it.

“Why don’t you just pick one and get the fuck on with it?” he snaps, rubbing his temples. “The goddamn bush won’t know the difference.”

“She will. She’s a smart girl,” Magnus tells him, matter-of-fact, before rushing outside to test out the glow-in-the-dark fertilizer Taako definitely picked up as a goof.

Taako snatches his phone off the table and selects Kravitz’s name. The phone rings twice before he picks up.

“’Lo?” Kravitz asks.

“Say the whole word or say nothing,” Taako tells him, and then, “Wanna go out?”

“Uh,” Kravitz says.

Taako pushes forward with his pitch. “I’ll meet you at the Davy Lamp at two.”

“Why –” He seems to think better of that question, redirecting. “I’m sorry, what is your name? You never told me before, and I’d like to know.”

Taako groans. He feels like he’ll have to do that a lot with Kravitz. “Taako. Like the food, but not. Keep up, my guy!”

“Right, okay. And I’m –”

“Kravitz, I _know_ , you wear a fucking nametag.”

“I, um,” Kravitz stammers. “I will be there. But, uh. Is this a plant emergency?”

Magnus is outside, kneeling over Rosie and patting down the soil carefully. He’s definitely singing. Miraculously, Taako resists the urge to run out there and kick the pot over. That wouldn’t even count as an emergency, anyway.

“No, it isn’t. No dead bodies here,” he says.

“Please stop bringing that up. It really does help roses, you know.”

“I don’t know, and I refuse. Davy Lamp at two.”

Kravitz sighs. “I’ll be there.”

Taako hangs up without saying goodbye, because it’s important to keep Kravitz guessing at this point in the game. He marches upstairs and throws open the doors to his closet, fully prepared to spend every remaining minute picking out the sickest look he can manage from the supplies on hand.

\--

The Davy Lamp isn’t the most stellar place to go, actually, and Taako knows for sure he could make something better himself if he wanted to. But he doesn’t, and it’s close enough to home that he can bail if things don’t go well, even in his heels, which means it’s the best option he’s got.

He shows up at two-thirty, because fuck if he’s going to be on time for this shit, looking fly as hell. Kravitz is already there, obviously, seated at a table all by himself.

Taako waves to Ren where she’s standing behind the counter. “The usual for me, darling,” he says as he passes.

“Of course, Taako!” she chirps.

Kravitz looks up from the table and spots him almost immediately. He looks relieved, or maybe terrified. It’s hard to tell. Taako collapses into the chair across from him, draping his arm over the back of the chair and blowing a stray hair out of his face.

“What’s up, handsome?” he asks, tilting his head to the side.

Kravitz smiles a little bit. “I thought you said two o’clock?”

“For _you_ , yes.” Taako waves a hand. “I wasn’t gonna get here first. Sitting at a table all by myself would be a bad look.”

“Okay,” Kravitz says, and he sounds a little confused but he doesn’t seem upset. “How’s the rosebush?”

Taako shrugs. “We haven’t managed to resurrect it yet, but it’s also only been a day. I think it’ll take longer than that to undo the damage.”

Kravitz takes this information in and nods. “When is your roommate coming back?”

“Fuck if I know,” Taako says. “Could be a week, could be a month.”

Ren comes over to the table with a salad and a mimosa. Taako thanks her and shoos her away.

“Well – uh, I mean. I feel like that’s something you should know about a person you live with,” Kravitz says, watching Taako drizzle ketchup on his salad with the sort of sick curiosity Taako has become accustomed to. “Just for, like, logistical purposes.”

“He’ll turn up eventually. I just need Rosie to be alive when that happens.”

Now Kravitz is definitely smiling at him. It’s like the most beautiful smile Taako has ever fucking seen, but he isn’t gonna say that. “Rosie?” he asks.

Taako huffs and waves his free hand. “No, listen, that is in no way _my_ doing. That is the world’s way of punishing me, alright, by giving me two roommates who think plants need names and shit.”

“It’s cute,” Kravitz tells him.

“It’s horrible and disgusting, and one day they will ruin both my life and my reputation with their antics.”

They continue on like this, all idle banter and chit-chat, for much longer than Taako often cares for. Kravitz is nice and all, but this is hardly a date for the books. It takes until his third drink for Taako to give up on it almost entirely, pushing himself back from the table in the middle of Kravitz’s thoughts on the acidity levels of Phandalin soil.

“That’s it!” Taako states, placing both hands on the table. “We’ve _got_ to find something else to keep us busy, because right now I’m not feeling this whole thing.”

Kravitz blinks up at him. “Are you going to hold it against me if I point out that you were the one who arranged the date?”

He doesn’t acknowledge that comment at all. Instead, he pays the bill as fast as he can manage and very nearly drags Kravitz out of the bar to find something else to do before he dies of boredom.

There’s a museum a block or two away; this becomes Taako’s target, and he leads Kravitz to it with somewhat tipsy determination.

“Do you know anything about art, Krav?” he asks, starting up the steps.

“A little.” Kravitz trails behind him, far sturdier but way less certain. “Do you?”

“Absolutely fucking not.” Taako waltzes through the front door and past the front desk, into a nearly empty display room full of paintings he’s never bothered to look at before. “What do you think, babe? Where to?”

Kravitz comes to stand beside him, looking around the room. Taako drapes a hand through his elbow and leans in. “Left?” he tries.

“Left, yes, excellent choice.” Taako pulls him by the arm in the desired direction, past the garish scenes of what the signs call “Renaissance” but Taako calls _poor taste_ , into a section with much more green and blue involved.

“What do you know about these ones?” Taako asks, pointing to a wall full of lily pads and blurry bridges.

Kravitz squints and tilts his head. “I’m afraid I don’t really know anything.”

“That’s a boring answer,” Taako tells him. “You should have just made something up. I wouldn’t know the difference.”

“Okay, let me try again.” Kravitz extends an arm, pointing at the bridge. “This painter was alive before glasses were invented, obviously. The overall blurriness of the art is meant to portray how they saw the world."

It surprises a genuine laugh out of Taako, and he leans just a little more into Kravitz’s side. “Yes, of course. Do go on.”

\--

Kravitz takes him to the greenhouse on their third date. It’s not exactly public property, but considering Rose Buddies is the greenhouse’s primary business partner, Kravitz insists they’re cool visiting it.

It’s a shitty day anyway, so it’s not like they have a whole lot of options. The sky is rolling with dark and heavy clouds, and the air is so humid Taako feels like he’s swimming in it. He’s tried to dress appropriately for a greenhouse environment, but he’s sweating before they even step inside. Once he is inside, he thinks he might actually fucking melt.

Kravitz, on the other hand, appears to be completely in his element. He swipes his forehead with a dark handkerchief he’d been hiding in his back pocket and grins at Taako. “You good?”

Taako narrows his eyes. “Oh, please. I’ve been in steamier situations than this.”

The underlying meaning isn’t lost on Kravitz. He tugs at his shirt collar and laughs, a little flustered. “Right. Um, well. We could start with the tropical plants here and work our way to the flower nursery, if you’d like.”

“Whatever you want, hot stuff,” Taako says. He wanders over to a large tree-like monstrosity, the sickest motherfucking plant he’s ever seen. It seems to have taken over a window. “Can I have this one?”

“No,” Kravitz answers, “that one’s carnivorous, and I don’t trust you not to kill it.”

Taako hums, trying to think of a good argument. “I would feed it filet mignon and the blood of my enemies.”

Kravitz laughs. “That wouldn’t work.”

He wraps an arm around Taako’s shoulders, guiding him away from his new cool pet and through a curtain of plastic strips into the next section. Taako goes, but only because it means Kravitz will keep touching him.

They wander through the aisles for a while. Every time Taako points to a plant, Kravitz will list off its name and deny him the right to take it home, like some kind of botany policeman. It’s the worst thing he’s ever done to Taako, and Taako says as much as many times as he is able.

“I don’t know why you keep saying you want these plants,” Kravitz says, after the fifteenth time. “The only plant you apparently have isn’t even yours, and when you were put in charge of her, you neglected her until she almost died.”

“That was all a ploy,” Taako argues. “I needed a reason to go in the local shop and flirt with the cute cashier there.”

Kravitz chuckles, and Taako can feel it where he’s tucked against his side. “You’re lying and we both know it. I’m not going to let you get any more plants until you prove to me that you can take care of Rosie.”

Taako huffs and crosses his arms, only a little bit serious. “Rosie can’t eat a _person_ ,” he says, because he loves to be a fucking contrarian.

“Neither can the Venus flytrap you asked for two minutes ago,” Kravitz says.

The greenhouse is kind of cool, although Taako wouldn’t admit it. He even finds himself enjoying the nursery when they get to it, all the tiny leaves poking their heads out of the ground for the first time. It’s not, like, his new favorite hangout, but Kravitz gets excited over each tiny sprig of green and points out each stage of development even though Taako can’t see the difference at all.

They decide to leave after a while, once they’ve perused all the available rooms. Taako leads the way, which is a stupid thing for him to do; as soon as he steps outside, he’s drenched by the torrential downpour that apparently started up while they were exploring the inside.

“Fuck!” he yells, immediately pulling the collar of his shirt up over his hair. “That’s cool! Thanks, nature!”

Kravitz lets out a shout of his own when the rain hits him. “Shit, ah – this is awful!” he says. “Come on, the car’s this way!”

They race through the parking lot, tripping over themselves in the rush to get safely in their vehicle. Kravitz fights with the lock for what feels like decades before it clicks open, and Taako scrambles inside as soon as it does.

“Jesus!” Taako shouts, turning the heat up as Kravitz starts the car. “Krav, babe, I fucking hate you for doing this to me.” His gauzy shirt is clinging to him in an uncomfortably damp fashion; he tears it off, leaving him in just the tank top underneath. Goosebumps ripple across his skin as the air from the dash hits him.

“I’m sorry,” Kravits says, sounding just as frantic as Taako feels. There’s an edge of laughter underneath it.

Taako pulls down his sunshade and looks himself over in the mirror, thanking whatever genius minds invented waterproof makeup. His hair is in ruins, though, all kinky and flat. He starts combing his fingers through it, systematically picking apart the knots as best he can.

He doesn’t even notice the silence until he’s finished his braid.

The car is still sitting in the parking lot, rain crashing down around them and thunder rolling in the distance. The air coming from the vents is finally warm enough to do something, and the engine of the car is humming away in its efforts to keep them comfortable. But Kravitz has gone completely silent in the driver’s seat. When Taako looks over to check on him, he’s staring back at him, eyes serious.

“What?” Taako demands, crossing his arms uncomfortably. “Is something wrong?”

Kravitz opens and closes his mouth a few times, not saying anything. He clears his throat. “Um. Ah, I just – Taako, you’re very beautiful.” He’s clearly nervous, voice shaky. “Can I, um. May I kiss you?”

Taako’s heart stops in his chest. Briefly, he’s overcome with feelings he can’t put a name to, and this time he knows he’s the one who’s blushing furiously. He shakes himself out of it, lurching forward and pulling Kravitz in by the back of his neck.

Kissing over the center console isn’t the most comfortable thing Taako’s ever done. He thinks they make it work, though.

\--

Taako stumbles out onto the front porch in a robe and slippers, watering can in hand. The sun is barely peeking over the horizon, casting everything in a soft and vaguely pink light. He squints at it, too tired to get truly annoyed.

“Damn plant,” he mutters to himself half-heartedly, pouring the water over Rosie. It’s her fault he’s up this early; Magnus read somewhere that it’s best to water something early in the day or late in the evening, when it isn’t hot enough for the water to evaporate.

Taako nudges her pot with his foot. The branches shake, but only one or two leaves fall off. She seems to be doing better than she was before, at least, although that isn’t saying much.

They’ve moved on from the water soluble plant food to the natural organic shit, although Taako isn’t really sure what’s so different about it. When the watering can is empty, Taako kneels down and combs through the branches, searching for any dead or unhealthy branches to clip off.

He’d picked that up just a few days ago, while Kravitz was ranting about his own plants.

“And he says I never listen,” Taako mutters to himself, trimming off one particular branch that seems to have kicked the bucket.

He hears Magnus gasp and very nearly falls on his ass.

“Are you talking to her too?” Magnus demands, from where he was apparently watching Taako from the doorway.

“You’re too fucking quiet for someone so _big_ ,” Taako snaps, and then, “I am _not_ talking to the plant, I’m talking to myself.”

“Cause that’s so much better,” Magnus intones. Taako hates him.

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t,” Magnus says, “and you don’t hate Rosie, either, or else you wouldn’t be taking care of her.”

Taako doesn’t dignify that comment with a response, instead pushing himself up to standing and marching inside. Magnus trails after him.

“I’m only doing this because Merle will kill us if that stupid thing dies,” Taako says, walking straight to the coffee pot and pouring himself a mug.

“You’re doing it because it gives you an excuse to go to the flower shop,” Magnus counters, because apparently he thinks he’s a goddamn psychic now. “And also because you love her. And Merle.”

Taako almost spits out his coffee. “Right, yeah, _that’s_ the truth. I fucking love _Merle_. That old asshole just really brightens my day.”

Magnus grins and nudges past him, grabbing his own mug for coffee. “Fine, pretend you don’t care,” he says. “We know you do anyway.”

“I’m gonna set that goddamn bush on fire to prove you wrong,” Taako says, moving to the fridge. He pulls out a carton of eggs and some veggies, and when he turns around, Magnus is already getting the mixing bowl out of the cabinet.

“You would never do that,” Magnus argues. “Omelets or scrambled?”

“Omelets, obviously,” Taako says. “Grab the cheese grater while you’re over there.”

Their kitchen is plenty big enough when only one person is using it, but it’s always gotten a little cramped whenever they try to work together on something. Mostly, Taako lets Magnus do the chopping and mixing and then he’ll take over when they have to start using the stovetop. It’s easy to fall back on that routine, trading insults and bantering over the sound of whisks and sizzling foods.

It takes no time at all for them to settle at the table together, omelets and coffee and even some hash browns at the ready. By then the sun is above the horizon, streaming in through the windows in golden rays.

The whole thing is fucking picturesque, Taako admits, although he doesn’t appreciate how early he had to wake up to see it.

\--

“Hey, babe,” Taako calls, pushing through the door of Rose Buddies. “I’m gonna need you to skip out on your shift and help me replant my fucking bush. No innuendo intended, unless you want it to be.”

Kravitz, at his regular station behind the cash register, freezes up. “Uh, hello sir. Can I help you?”

“What the fuck, Krav,” Taako starts. “I just told you –”

There’s a woman standing at the end of one of the aisles, arms crossed over her chest and eyebrows raised. She cuts an imposing figure, back straight as a rod and lips pressed into a thin line. Judging by her bright pink apron, she also works here.

As soon as Taako sees her, he stops in his tracks. “Hey there,” he tries, aiming for conversational and coming out a little more alarmed. “Don’t mind me. I’ve got all the help I need with Kravitz here.”

“Taako,” Kravitz says, effectively stopping him before he can say any more stupid shit. Smart man. “This is Raven. She’s my boss.”

“Charmed, I’m sure,” Taako says, stepping forward and holding out a hand. Raven doesn’t take it, which is not a _great_ sign. He lets it fall and clears his throat. “Uh. Kravitz has never actually ditched the store for me, if that makes this situation any less uncomfortable.”

“I would know if he had,” Raven states. Her words are short and clipped, and her voice is chilly. Taako cannot fathom how she came to own a flower shop with a disposition so stormy. Apparently that’s all the conversation she finds it necessary to have; she turns and exits through a door marked “Employees Only” before Taako can say anything else.

“Right, well,” Taako faces Kravitz. “Rosie needs a bigger pot, I think. Can you help me replant her after your shift ends?”

Kravitz smiles at him, an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. “Of course. I’m off in about fifteen minutes; do you mind waiting?”

“Ugh, fine,” Taako says. “I guess I’ll pick out a flowerpot or something.”

“You’ll need to get one of the larger bags of soil, too,” Kravitz tells him.

It’s possibly the worst day in all of history for them to try this out, Taako discovers later. First, neither Taako nor Kravitz actually drove to the shop, so they’re forced to carry the supplies home. Second, Magnus is at work, so they can’t even call and force him to carry it for them. Instead, they have to put the bag of soil in the pot and drag the whole monstrous thing home between the two of them.

It takes _forever_ to get it all home, mostly because they have to keep stopping to catch their fucking breath. By the time they get there, it’s early evening and they’re both exhausted.

“This is the worst goddamn idea you’ve ever had,” Taako sputters out, chest heaving as he leans on the porch railing.

“Would you get upset with me if I pointed out that it was your idea?” Kravitz asks, between unsteady breaths.

Taako tries rolling his eyes, before deciding he is too tired even for that. “I will break up with your ass,” he huffs, before he’s thought it through.

The air goes still around them. Taako thinks maybe time has stopped.

“Are we… at a point where we could break up?” Kravitz asks, and Taako can’t tell if he’s hesitant or if he’s still trying to catch his breath.

Taako resists the urge to lash out. It feels like his heart is pounding against his ribcage, like he’s crossed some kind of line he didn’t even know existed until he tripped over it and landed on his ass. “Fuck, I mean,” Taako does his best to throw a hand in the air in an exasperated fashion. It ends up being more of a shrug. “I don’t know. I haven’t put that much thought into it.”

He hasn’t thought about it at all, actually, which might mean they aren’t a thing worth thinking about. But it also means Kravitz has managed not to set off any alarms in Taako’s head, and somehow they’ve reached a point where breakup is an option that exists, and simultaneously one that Taako doesn’t want.

“Well,” Kravitz hedges, “would you _like_ to be?”

It’s a very hard question, and he’s too tired for that level of thought, but he can hear the way Kravitz is hoping for it. He sighs and pushes up off the railing, loathing the way his muscles scream in protest. “I’ll consider it, I guess. Now come the fuck on, before Rosie decides it’s time to hulk out on her pot.”

Kravitz doesn’t argue. He grabs a trowel and the bag of soil, and Taako toes Rosie closer to the center of the porch. They work together silently, both thinking about something very far from the task at hand.

It isn’t as uncomfortable as Taako thought it would be.

\--

Merle does come back. He storms in through the front door one day, grumpy as ever and wearing a shirt that proclaims he’s “on Island Time.” Magnus lifts him off the fucking ground to hug him properly, and all the while he yells about being taken advantage of. It’s disgusting.

“I see you got me a new plant,” he says to Taako, chin hooked over Magnus’ shoulder. “What happened, did you kill my Rosie?”

Taako snorts. “Gone so long you can’t even fucking recognize your own rosebush,” he says. “She’s gotten nice and big since you left, so we gave her a new home since you decided to be a deadbeat about it.”

“Hey, I’m trying to be better,” Merle retorts. “My human kids just take precedent.”

Magnus sets him down, finally, and he brushes himself off like he’s got cooties or some shit.

“We kind of did kill Rosie,” Magnus admits. “But Taako found someone who helped us bring her back, and now she’s all good.” He gives a thumbs up, as if he hasn’t just blown their cover.

“ _Magnus_ ,” Taako groans.

“Ha! I knew you couldn’t care for her,” Merle says, pointing a finger. “You almost had me there. I should have known better. She loves me too much to live without me here.”

“Ew,” Taako says. Magnus pulls an appropriately disgusted face.

Merle picks up his suitcase and walks to the stairs. “Well, Taako, whoever this mysterious plant whisperer is, tell him thanks from me, and let him know we won’t need him around here anymore. Daddy’s home!”

“I thought we all agreed you’d stop fucking saying that,” Taako shouts after him. He’s sort of happy that Merle is home, honestly, but there’s an uncomfortable weight in the pit of his stomach he doesn’t want to confront.

Magnus has moved into the kitchen, where he’s rustling around. When Taako enters, he smiles and holds up the watering can. “Last time for a while,” he says, shaking it. The water sloshes around inside. “You wanna do the honors?”

Taako bites the inside of his cheek. “No,” he says, trying not to sound as out of sorts as he feels. “You can go ahead.”

Magnus frowns at him. “Okay, if you say so.”

He lumbers out of the kitchen and onto the porch. Taako waits until the door swings shut behind him to collapse in a chair, tapping his nails against the kitchen table.

It isn’t that he doesn’t want Merle to be home. As much as Taako is loath to admit it, he’s part of what home means now, and it’s been weirdly quiet without his grumpy grandpa ass wandering around griping about everything under the sky. But there is a part of him wishing maybe Merle had just stayed gone, at least for a little while.

He’s doggedly avoiding any self-reflection that might reveal the reason why, instead focusing on the color of the setting sun against the walls of their dining room, when Magnus calls for him.

“Taako! Come out here!” he says, sounding alarmingly urgent considering he’s less than forty feet away.

Taako moves much faster than he will ever admit to find him on the porch, kneeling next to Rosie with a huge grin on his face.

“What, did she finally talk back or something?” he jokes.

Magnus shakes his head. “No, no, come _here_.”

He waves a hand, gesturing for Taako to get closer. Taako does as he’s told, kneeling down beside Magnus and following his gaze. There, nestled in the leaves and branches, is a tiny pink rose.

It hasn’t bloomed yet, but it’s there nonetheless, a developed flower bud. The first they’ve seen since they started taking care of Rosie. Suddenly, Taako has an idea exactly what it is that’s been bothering him and how to fix it.

“Hey, Mango,” he starts, “do you, uh. Do you mind if I take this?”

Magnus pouts at Taako, apparently shocked out of staring at the miracle of life or whatever. “What? It’s the only one we have, and it’s still so little! Merle hasn’t even seen it yet.”

“Please, Magnus.” Taako would try and be snarky about it, but he knows Magnus will cave quicker if he’s earnest, and speed is important if he wants to snip this fucker off before Merle claims it as his own trophy.

“Uh.” Magnus considers it for a moment, glancing back at the flower with a furrowed brow. Then his eyes light up with what must be understanding, and he smiles. “Yeah, of course. Go ahead.”

Taako nods and grabs the clippers from the rim of the watering can. He leans in snips off the flower, leaving just a couple inches of stem. “Thanks, buddy,” he says.

As soon as he’s got the flower in his hands, he’s off.

\--

Kravitz is closing up when Taako arrives at Rose Buddies. He’s got a broom in his hand, and when Taako knocks on the front door to get his attention, he smiles and mouths, “five more minutes.” It might as well be a fucking death sentence, but Taako takes it.

He stands outside, alternately shoving his hands in his pockets and pulling them out to fiddle with his hair. He’s bouncing on the balls of his feet, impatient as he’s ever been even up to the point that Kravitz flips the “Open” sign to “Closed.” By the time he’s out and locking the door, Taako’s heart is pounding hard enough to break a couple ribs, probably.

Kravitz realizes something is up almost immediately. “Taako,” he says, head tilted to the side. “What’s wrong?”

“I, um,” Taako starts, and hates himself for it. He planned out an entire spiel on his walk here, but it’s apparently fallen out of his head in the past fifteen fucking seconds. “My roommate came back today, so I won’t be taking care of Rosie anymore,” he says instead.

It’s minute, but he thinks he sees Kravitz’s expression fall just a little bit. He’s probably just projecting. Before Kravitz can say anything else, Taako pushes forward.

“And at first I thought that was a fucking shitty situation, because it meant I didn’t have a reason to come and see you anymore,” he says, “but then we found _this_.”

He turns around and waits for a response. There’s uncomfortable silence for a beat too long before Kravitz says, “Um. What am I looking at, here?”

Taako groans, loud and long, turning back to face Kravitz. He pulls the rose out of his braid and holds it out into the space between them, as close to an offering as he’s ever made.

“It’s Rosie’s first flower of the season,” Taako says. “Which means I can take care of a goddamn plant on my own now, which means you cannot fucking stop me from buying them all. So I’m going to be here, all the time, buying fertilizer and plant food and flowerpots until I don’t have any room left on my porch, or until you and I start seeing each other on a more regular basis in some _other setting_.”

He’s out of breath by the end, chest heaving. He’s still holding out the damn flower, and Kravitz is staring at him with a level of surprise and confusion that Taako has never seen before.

After a moment, though, Kravitz’s expression softens into something a little more understanding. “Are you asking me to be your boyfriend, Taako?”

Taako can’t decide if he wants to hit this boy or kiss him. “ _Yes_.”

He holds his breath as Kravitz reaches out, grabbing the stem of the flower. “Well,” Kravitz says, not meeting Taako’s eyes. “I guess, since you asked so nicely, I will give you a chance.”

Taako pushes forward, standing up on his toes to kiss Kravitz properly. It isn’t the best kiss ever, mostly just a press of their lips; Taako is too out of breath and overwhelmed to attempt much else.

\--

The sun is hot on the back of Taako’s neck, the dirt tough and dry under his hands. He pulls out another dandelion, yanking from as far down as he can reach to make sure he gets it all. It fights with him too much for something so goddamn tiny, and he nearly falls on his ass when it finally comes loose.

“Fuck!” he exclaims, waving his arms in an attempt to regain his balance.

Kravitz laughs from somewhere behind him, and then the wheelbarrow is next to him. He grabs the lip and tosses the offending weed in with the rest.

“You’re doing a great job, darling,” Kravitz tells him, and it probably wasn’t meant to sound condescending but Taako doesn’t have a lot of dignity left right now and it hits a sore spot.

“Why are we doing this? Our house doesn’t need _curb appeal,_ ” Taako insists, brushing his hands off on his thighs. It does nothing to clean them off. “Who the fuck needs a garden? This is the worst thing you’ve ever made me do.”

Kravitz laughs. “Would you get upset if I reminded you this was your idea?”

“Yes,” Taako says, dropping to sit on the ground and crossing his arms. “But I’m already upset, so who gives a shit.”

“Don’t give up now, Taako,” Kravitz says. He leans down and presses a kiss to Taako’s temple. “We still have to plant the petunias!”

Taako groans.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote like 5k of this today and I had to post it before tomorrow's episode kills me dead. Thank you, as always, to my dearest friend [Jaz](http://pervincetosscobble.tumblr.com/), who has listened to me rant and rave about this fic pretty much since its inception.
> 
> If you'd like, you can come and chat with me on [Tumblr](http://travismcelrcy.tumblr.com/). I have a lot of thoughts on Taako's fashion in this fic, especially, but just like. General TAZ shit will always get me going.


End file.
